


Thaw

by Ekokai



Category: The Pretender
Genre: Episode Missing Scene: At the Hour of Our Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-09
Updated: 2012-03-09
Packaged: 2017-11-01 16:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/359035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ekokai/pseuds/Ekokai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Missing scene.  One moment the helicopter had just located Jarod, the next he was already happily sleeping in the hospital. Here's what we probably missed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thaw

The white wolf bared its fangs in a vicious snarl and took another step forward. Jarod slowly closed his numb fingers over the largest rock he could manage and raised it, keeping his eyes on the animal and knowing he didn't stand a chance if it actually attacked. The wolf took another step and Jarod tightened his grip, trying to decide if it would be better to attempt to throw the rock or keep it as a weapon.

He never had to make that decision. In the next moment, the wolf raised its head and looked to the sky, hearing the helicopter a before Jarod did. Dropping the rock, Jarod waved at the rescue team as they circled overhead, vaguely aware of the wolf scampering back into the forest. The helicopter blades created a strong, cold wind that rushed over Jarod as the craft landed, but he was so cold already that it hardly phased him. He watched two men jump to the ground before the runners had settled on the rocky soil and they raced toward him with a rescue stretcher. 

"Man, are we glad to see you!" the taller of the duo yelled above the noise as they came up beside Jarod. 

"Not as glad as I am," Jarod replied honestly. He made a move to push himself up and was immediately stopped by a restraining hand.

"No, don't move. We have you now," the second man assured him. A friendly smile was all it took to make Jarod relax and cooperate. It was easy, actually. He had the strength of a newborn and had never been so cold in his life. Leaving himself in the hands of his rescuers had a definite appeal at the moment. "How bad are you hurt?"

Jarod relaxed against the fallen tree where he'd spent the night and listed his known injuries. Dislocated left shoulder, broken ribs, six-inch gash on his right thigh, possible frostbite on his hands and feet.

"You are a mess, my friend," the first man agreed, his tone light and teasing. He studied Jarod as his partner readied the stretcher, taking in the too pale skin and the lack of shivering signaling hypothermia. However, from what they had seen of the remains of the seaplane, he was lucky to be alive.

"Okay, we're going to get you out of here and we'll do all the work, got it?" the first man asked. Jarod nodded his head, familiar with the procedure from his own stint as a paramedic. He allowed them to gently lift him onto the stretcher and strap him in, then watched a cloud drift by as they hurried to the chopper and loaded him on board.

"Let’s get out of here!" one of the men yelled to the pilot and the craft lifted off, banking sharply to the left over the river then rising to clear the ridge. Seconds later they were racing toward the hospital, forty miles away.

Jarod felt the hands on him checking his injuries and taking his vitals then heard the information relayed to the doctor waiting back at the ER. Any other time he would have listened closely, but he was starting to warm up a little under the blankets that had been piled on him and it was making him sleepy. 

"No you don't," a voice warned, and he felt someone pat his cheek. "You need to stay awake for us. We'll be at the hospital in ten minutes and after they fix you up, then you can sleep. We don't want you slipping away on us now."

"Feel warmer," Jarod mumbled, turning his head away.

"You're not warm, you're practically frozen. You stay with us and I promise you'll be warm for real within the hour. Deal?"

Jarod nodded his head and fought to keep his eyes open. He had an itch where dried blood was making its presence known but with his arms strapped down he couldn't scratch. It did, however, give him something to concentrate on. He felt a pressure on his chest and turned his head, taking in the paramedic with the stethoscope updating the hospital. He heard the ETA given at three minutes and began to count to himself.  
________________________________________

True to their word the chopper landed on the roof of the hospital three minutes later. Jarod watched the blades slowing as he was pulled out and whisked into the building. There were voices telling him he'd be fine and he was certain they were correct, but the only words he wanted to hear now was that he could go to sleep.

Bright lights flashed by overhead then there was a thump as the doors to a treatment room burst open. The paramedics again updated the ER staff on his vitals as they unstrapped him and lifted him gently onto the exam table. 

"Get tympanic and rectal temperatures ASAP and make sure the Co2 is ready. Watch out for that thigh laceration and do not move that left shoulder. I want him checked thoroughly for frostbite as well."

Jarod listened to the doctor's orders as hands descended on him in well calibrated order, carefully removing his boots and socks then making short work of cutting away his clothing.

"He's starting to thaw," one of the nurses remarked, tossing the remains of his wet jeans on the floor with a plop.

"First stage frostbite on his toes and fingers," someone else remarked. "No problem."

Jarod jerked his leg as someone probed the gash on his thigh.

"Sorry about that. We'll give you something for the pain as soon as we get you warmed up," the doctor assured him. "Just need to get a baseline on you and before you know it we'll have you tucked away in a nice, warm bed with a lot of pretty nurses fussing all over you."

Jarod nodded and gritted his teeth as he was turned on his side, feeling so miserable that he couldn't even be slightly concerned about what they were doing to him or how exposed he was. It only took a few minutes but it felt like an eternity before he was on his back again and covered with a warming blanket to combat what was determined to be moderate hypothermia. A mask was placed over his nose and mouth and began to deliver warm, moist oxygen, something he had to admit felt great on his sore throat. Electrodes were placed on his chest and hooked to a heart monitor, a blood pressure cuff was secured around his right bicep and a temporary bandage was set on his leg. Twenty minutes after entering the ER he was still in pain, but gradually warming up.

As he lay there, Jarod wondered if there was any possibility that the Centre had tracked him through the phone call he'd made to Sydney just prior to the crash. He mulled the idea over for a while before deciding if he had been tracked, he would have been met at the hospital by sweepers pretending to be concerned family members. A few minutes later he began to shiver as his body's natural warming system kicked in and he began counting the seconds until he could sleep.

________________________________________

Slightly over an hour later, after several more temperature checks and a brief lecture about after-drop, a possible complication of hypothermia, Jarod was told he was close enough to normal to be allowed some pain medication while they continued his treatment. 

"Can I go to sleep now," he asked, barely holding back a yawn.

The old doctor smiled. "We're going to get some x-rays and stitch up that leg. If you want to sleep through that, be my guest." He leaned down close to Jarod's ear. "But after that two pretty nurses will be giving you a sponge bath before tucking you into bed."

Jarod closed his eyes, a slight smile on his lips. "Be sure to wake me when we get to that part."

The End


End file.
